No. Or at least not that I'm aware of. Hey, as you saw, I was too lazy to even go to the book shelf and pull the book! I thought you were done with this and were no longer interested in sources in Japanese.

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Peter A Goldsbury wrote:

The problem that struck me, when I was reading Hakeda and Yamasaki in preparation for this column, was: Why, if we are in a state of eternal harmony anyway, we need to become aware of this and "attune" ourselves to it.

OK, first off, my wife is sick and I have to look after both of my kids and prepare for a wedding so please forgive me if my answer is less than satisfactory. We can come back to this. It is an important question.

Buddhism is all about paradox. The basic idea is: The absolute is absolute. It exists in eternal harmony due to this fact, always has always will. In fact it is timeless. We, however, do NOT exist in this "world." Or, more to the point, WE are not AWARE that WE are this. The very fact of our subjective existence seems to point to the opposite, a dualistic, rather than absolute worldly existence. It is this dualistic "world" which we so greedily cling to and will stop at nothing to defend, since our very "existence" *seems* to depend upon it.

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Peter A Goldsbury wrote:

Why is it not possible to accept our eternal harmonious state and get on with our lives?

It is. Or at least that is what I believe Buddhas would have us do. It is just that we won't. In fact, there isn't much that we won't do prevent this from happening. People (many actually) have been crucified for suggesting as much!

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Peter A Goldsbury wrote:

After all, it was a "basic intuition" of Kukai. It seems that Kukai is taking back with one hand what he is giving with the other. If we do not "attune" ourselves with our eternal harmonious state, then the state itself seems to have no value.

Well, if I have made myself clear (which I doubt), you said it all when you said, "If we do not "attune" ourselves with our eternal harmonious state, then the state itself seems to have no value." I'm told that once one passes through this "narrow gate" the view is much different on the "other side."

The catch for us is, one must have faith enough (it requires faith because one doesn't "see it" from here.) to "go there" in thought, word, and action before before one can realize the salvation that was always one's to begin with. This idea is talked about in the famous parable of the "hidden jewel" from Chapter 8 of the Lotus Sutra. A quick Google pops up this link: http://www.ibc-rk.org/DharmaTalk/DT2....Dr.Reeves.htm The idea is that we all have the potential to become enlightened to the fact our true state of eternal harmony and all that that implies. Most of us just don't call in our inheritance due to a combination of fear/hatred, greed, and ignorance.

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Peter A Goldsbury wrote:

As far as you are aware, did Kukai deal acknowledge this problem, or deal with it?

I'm not trying to be cheeky when I say that it is my understanding that Kukai spent all of his adult life acknowledging this problem and trying to deal with it. His success rate, however, may be right up there with history's other "big hitters." Or to put it another way, with regards to transmission, here is another parallel with Aikido.

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Peter A Goldsbury wrote:

With Ignatius of Loyola (with whose teachings I have a very direct acquaintance), the issue does not arise, since he starts off from the basic premise that the harmony has been broken and has to be restored.

May I suggest that you try ingesting Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika? I like this translation and commentary: http://www.amazon.com/Fundamental-Wi...ref=pd_sim_b_1 but as always would suggest that, if one is serious, comparing it to other translations and other commentaries. It explains the logic behind bodhicitta.

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Peter A Goldsbury wrote:

Finally, what was the title and theme of your masters thesis, that you able to include a picture of Christ in Morihei Ueshiba's dojo?

The Religious Influences on Aikido. I have an M.Ed. and proposed an appropriate theme but my advisor interrupted me during my proposal and asked, "Do you use Aikido in education?" When I answered in the affirmative she said, "Why don't you work on that." I was stunned to say the least!

Shirata sensei had just passed away along with my father and my beloved Shodo sensei. I took a year sabbatical from work to complete my Masters Degree and to sort of take a breath. I was wondering what to do next with my Aikido since my teacher was gone and I kind of took my advisor's advice as a "sign." Shirata sensei had taught a Haguro Yamabushi no Gyo in his final years and I wanted to learn more about that since I figured nobody else was (to my mind) on a par with his teaching of Aikido and the Shugendo Shugyo seemed significant to sensei. So, I used the opportunity presented by my advisor to learn more about my teachers teachings. In the process I became ordained in Shingon-shu . . . twice!

BTW, I used a lot of research I had done in the early to mid eighties (contacting Omoto Kyo, etc., reading the Kojiki and Nohongi, learning what I could of Kotodama via Nakazono sensei and various Shinko Shukyo, etc.). I tried sharing what I'd found at the time but, surprise, surprise, no body seemed to care . . . that stuff didn't have anything to do with their sensei or organization. I think the internet may have changed that to some extent.

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Peter A Goldsbury wrote:

Can we be sure that you are not secretly writing a major novel as a follow-up?

Maybe . . . probably not. Maybe . . . after I retire!

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Peter A Goldsbury wrote:

Best,

PAG

All the best to you. I'm looking forward to sitting down together in the near future!